Agricultural header with one or more movable wing sections

ABSTRACT

An agricultural header includes: a main section including a main frame carrying at least one cutting element; at least one wing section pivotably coupled to the main section and including a wing frame; and a linkage pivotably coupling the at least one wing section to the main section, the linkage including an upper bar and a lower bar which are both coupled to the main frame and the wing frame, the upper bar defining an upper bar axis and the lower bar defining a lower bar axis which is non-parallel to the upper bar axis.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to an agricultural vehicle and, morespecifically, to an agricultural vehicle with a header having one ormore movable wing sections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An agricultural harvester known as a “combine” is historically termedsuch because it combines multiple harvesting functions with a singleharvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating and cleaning. Acombine includes a header which removes the crop from a field, and afeeder housing which transports the crop matter into a threshing rotor.The threshing rotor rotates within a perforated housing, which may be inthe form of adjustable concaves and performs a threshing operation onthe crop to remove the grain. Once the grain is threshed it fallsthrough perforations in the concaves onto a grain pan. From the grainpan the grain is cleaned using a cleaning system, and is thentransported to a grain tank onboard the combine. A cleaning fan blowsair through the sieves to discharge chaff and other debris toward therear of the combine. Non-grain crop material such as straw from thethreshing section proceeds through a residue system, which may utilize astraw chopper to process the non-grain material and direct it out therear of the combine. When the grain tank becomes full, the combine ispositioned adjacent a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded,such as a semi-trailer, gravity box, straight truck, or the like; and anunloading system on the combine is actuated to transfer the grain intothe vehicle.

To remove crop material from the field, the header of the combineharvester may be equipped with a cutter bar assembly having many sharpcutting elements that reciprocate sidewardly, relative to a forwarddirection of travel, to sever the crop material from the field beforeentering the feeder housing. The header may include a rotating reel withtines or the like to sweep crop material toward the cutting elements.

To closely follow the ground and produce a consistent cut stalk length,many agricultural harvesters have flexible cutting elements, such ascutter bars, which can flex during harvesting. Flexure of the cutterbar(s) can help compensate for terrain irregularity encountered by theheader during travel across a field. Some flexible cutter bars mayallow, for example, 3 inches of travel in either direction from anormal, unflexed position, allowing the flexible cutter bar tocompensate for up to 6 inches of ground irregularity across a width ofthe header.

Recent trends in agricultural vehicles have resulted in agriculturalharvesters with relatively wider headers to allow more crop material tobe cut in each pass of the harvester, reducing the number of passesnecessary to harvest the crop material on a field. For example, someheaders may have a width of 45 feet or more. Increasing the width of theheader has been done in a variety of ways, including having a mainsection of the header which couples to one or more wing sections.

While widening the header allows for fewer passes to completely harvesta field, several challenges are presented by the increased widening ofthe header. As previously described, some flexible cutter bars cancompensate for up to 6 inches of ground irregularity across a width ofthe header. As the header becomes wider, it has been found that moreground irregularity compensation may be needed to allow the header toconsistently follow the ground due to many fields having more than 6inches of ground deviation across a width of 45 feet or more.

What is needed in the art is an agricultural header which can follow theground at increasing widths of the header.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one exemplary embodiment formed in accordance with the presentinvention, there is provided a header having at least one wing orsegment section pivotably coupled to a main section by a linkage with anupper bar and a lower bar.

In another exemplary embodiment formed in accordance with the presentinvention, there is provided an agricultural header including: a mainsection including a main frame carrying at least one cutting element; atleast one wing section pivotably coupled to the main section andincluding a wing frame; and a linkage pivotably coupling the at leastone wing section to the main section, the linkage including an upper barand a lower bar which are both coupled to the main frame and the wingframe, the upper bar defining an upper bar axis and the lower bardefining a lower bar axis which is non-parallel to the upper bar axis.

In yet another exemplary embodiment formed in accordance with thepresent invention, there is provided an agricultural header including: amain section including a main frame carrying at least one cuttingelement; at least one segment section pivotably coupled to the mainsection and including a segment frame; and a linkage pivotably couplingthe at least one segment section to the main section, the linkageincluding an upper bar and a lower bar which are both coupled to themain frame and the segment frame.

One possible advantage of exemplary embodiments formed in accordancewith the present invention is the pivoting behavior of the at least onewing section relative to the main section can be varied by altering theconfiguration and orientation of the upper bar and lower bar of thelinkage.

Another possible advantage of exemplary embodiments formed in accordancewith the present invention is the orientation of the at least onesegment section can be controlled by an actuator linked to the bars orsegment section to alter the ground following behavior of the header.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings certainembodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however,that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements,dimensions, and instruments shown Like numerals indicate like elementsthroughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an exemplary embodiment of anagricultural harvester, the agricultural harvester comprising a headerhaving a main section and a pair of wing sections, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a rear view of the header of the agricultural vehicleof FIG. 1 in a first orientation, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a rear view of the header shown in FIGS. 1-2 in asecond orientation, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a rear view of another exemplary embodiment of aheader which can be incorporated in the agricultural harvester shown inFIG. 1, the header including a main section and a pair of segmentsections.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown an exemplary embodiment of an agricultural vehicle 100 in the formof a combine harvester which generally includes a chassis 102 and anagricultural header 110 carried by the chassis 102, in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Typically, the combineharvester 100 will include additional systems for the separation andhandling of collected crop material, but these additional systems areomitted from view for brevity of description. It should be appreciatedthat the header 110 described and illustrated herein does notnecessarily need to be included on a combine harvester, but can beincorporated in other agricultural vehicles such as mowers.

The header 110 includes a main section 111 with a main frame 112carrying one or more cutting elements 113 with sharpened edges 114 tocut crop material as the vehicle 100 travels in a forward direction,denoted by arrow F. As shown, the cutting element 113 is a cutter bar,but other types of cutting elements can also be included in place of thecutter bar 113. Further, while the header 110 is shown in the exemplaryembodiment of a grain header for harvesting grain, in some exemplaryembodiments formed according to the present the header can be in theform of a corn header equipped with one or more appropriate cuttingelements for harvesting corn. As shown in FIG. 1, the main frame 112 canbe rigidly connected to the chassis 102 at a mount 103, but this is anoptional configuration. The main section 111 can have a pair of opposedlateral ends 115 and 116, with a wing section 120 and 130 pivotablycoupled to each of the lateral ends 115, 116, respectively. As usedherein, “pivotably coupled” signifies that each wing section 120, 130can be connected to its respective lateral end 120, 130 so the wingsections 120, 130 can pivot during travel of the vehicle 100, which isdescribed further herein. The wing sections 120, 130 each have arespective wing frame 121, 131 which may also support the cutter bar113, as shown, so pivotable movement of the wing sections 120, 130 maycause flexing of the cutter bar 113 to follow the ground, as will bedescribed further herein. As shown, the main section 111 can define amain section length MSL which may be greater than a respective wingsection length WSL1, WSL2 of the wing sections 120, 130; in someexemplary embodiments, one or more of the wing section lengths WSL1,WSL2 may be greater than the main section length MSL. Further, while twowing sections 120, 130 are shown and described herein, it should beappreciated that the vehicle 100 may only include one wing section ormore than two wing sections, if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of a linkage 200pivotably coupling one of the wing sections 120, 130 to the main section111 is shown. While not shown in FIG. 2, another linkage similar to thelinkage 200 shown in FIGS. 2-3, or other linkage, can be used topivotably couple the wing section 130 to the main section 110. Thelinkage 200 includes an upper bar 201 and a lower bar 202 which are bothcoupled to the wing frame 121 and the main frame 112. As shown, theupper bar 201 can be coupled to an upper main pivot 216 of the mainsection 111 and an upper wing pivot 223 of the wing section 120 and thelower bar 202 can be coupled to a lower main pivot 217 of the mainsection 111 and a lower wing pivot 224 of the wing section 120, asshown. The upper bar 201 and lower bar 202 can both be formed assubstantially rigid, i.e., generally inflexible, bars, with the upperbar 201 defining an upper bar length UL and the lower bar 202 defining alower bar length LL which is the same as the upper bar length UL. As thelinkage 200 includes the upper bar 201 and lower bar 202 connected tothe main frame 112 and wing frame 121, the frames 112, 121 and bars 201,202 together can act as a four-bar linkage between the wing section 120and the main section 111, as opposed to a more traditional hinge linkageincorporated in many headers.

To magnify the flexure of the cutter bar 113 in sections of the cutterbar 113 further from the main section 111, and now also referring toFIG. 3, the upper bar 201 defines an upper bar axis UA1 and the lowerbar 202 defines a lower bar axis LA1 which is non-parallel to the upperbar axis UA1. As can be seen by comparing FIGS. 2 and 3, having theupper bar axis UA1 and lower bar axis LA1 non-parallel to each other asshown allows pivoting of the wing section 120 relative to the mainsection 111 to cause a lateral outer end 225 of the wing section 120 toraise more than a lateral inner end 226 of the wing section 120 with theupper wing pivot 223 and lower wing pivot 224. Since the deviations inthe ground can be more pronounced adjacent the lateral outer end 225 ofthe wing section 120 compared to the lateral inner end 226 of the wingsection 120, having the lateral outer end 225 raise more than thelateral inner end 226 during pivoting of the wing section 120 can allowan increased effective flexure of the cutter bar 113 and allow thecutter bar 113 to more closely follow the ground across an entire widthW of the header 110 (shown in FIG. 1), especially when the width W ofthe header 110 is relatively large.

When the wing section 120 is relatively level with the main section 111,as shown in FIG. 2, the wing section 120 can define a wing longitudinalaxis WLA which is coaxial with a main longitudinal axis MLA of the mainsection 111 and parallel to a ground plane GP on which the vehicle 100is resting. The upper bar axis UA1 of the upper bar 201 and the lowerbar axis LA1 of the lower bar 202 can both also be non-parallel to thewing longitudinal axis WLA such that the bar axes UA1, LA1 of therespective bars 201, 202 are angled with respect to the winglongitudinal axis WLA. In this sense, the upper bar axis UA1 of theupper bar 201 can form an upper bar angle αU relative to the winglongitudinal axis WLA and the lower bar axis LA1 of the lower bar 202can form a lower bar angle αL relative to the wing longitudinal axis WLAwhich may be different than or equal to the upper bar angle αU. Theupper bar angle αU can be varied by, for example, altering the upper barlength UL of the upper bar 201 and/or adjusting the positions of theupper main pivot 216 and upper wing pivot 223 relative to one another.Similarly, the lower bar angle αL can be varied by, for example,altering the lower bar length LL of the lower bar 202 and/or adjustingthe positions of the lower main pivot 217 and lower wing pivot 224relative to one another. By adjusting the upper bar angle αU and thelower bar angle αL, the pivoting behavior of the wing section 120relative to the main section 111 can be adjusted as desired. As shouldbe appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3, the four-bar linkage 200 can beconfigured so that the upper bar axis UA1 and lower bar axis LA1 aremaintained in a non-parallel relationship relative to one anotherregardless of an orientation of the wing section 120 relative to themain section 111. In some exemplary embodiments, the four-bar linkage200 can also be configured so the upper bar angle αU and the lower barangle αL stay constant during pivoting of the wing section 120 relativeto the main section 111. In one exemplary embodiment, the header 110 caninclude an actuator 230, illustrated in dashed lines, coupling the upperbar 201 to the lower bar 202 to maintain the non-parallel relationshipand/or the upper bar angle αU and lower bar angle αL, but it should beappreciated that the actuator 230 is not needed to maintain thenon-parallel relationship between the upper bar 201 and lower bar 202 orthe corresponding bar angles αU and αL.

In another exemplary embodiment of a header 400 formed in accordancewith the present invention, and referring now to FIG. 4, the header 400can include a main section 401 including a main frame 402 carrying oneor more cutting elements 403, such as a cutter bar, a first segmentsection 410 pivotably coupled to the main section 401 and including afirst segment frame 411, and can also include a second segment section420 pivotably coupled to the first segment section 410 and including asecond segment frame 421. As shown, the main frame 402 of the mainsection 401 can include an upper main bar 404 and a lower main bar 405,with the main bars 404, 405 of the main frame 402 being connected to,for example, the chassis 102 of the agricultural vehicle 100. Similarly,the first segment frame 411 can include a first segment upper bar 412and a first segment lower bar 413 and the second segment frame 421 caninclude a second segment upper bar 422 and a second segment lower bar423. In some exemplary embodiments, the first segment frame 411 and/orthe second segment frame 421 are formed to be substantially rigid, i.e.,resistant to easily bending, by forming the frames 411, 412 out of, forexample, a relatively rigid metal such as steel.

A linkage 430 pivotably couples the first segment section 410 to themain section 401 and includes an upper bar 431 and a lower bar 432 whichare both coupled to the main frame 402 and the first segment frame 411.As shown, the upper bar 431 can pivotably couple to the upper main bar404 at an upper main pivot 406 and the first segment upper bar 412 at afirst segment upper pivot 414 and the lower bar 432 can pivotably coupleto the lower main bar 405 at a lower main pivot 407 and the firstsegment lower bar 413 at a first segment lower pivot 415. Similarly, asecond linkage 440 can pivotably couple the first segment section 410 tothe second segment section 430 and include a second upper bar 441 and asecond lower bar 442. As shown, the second upper bar 441 can pivotablycouple to the first segment upper bar 412 at another first segment upperpivot 416 and the second segment upper bar 422 at a second segment upperpivot 424 and the second lower bar 442 can pivotably couple to the firstsegment lower bar 413 at another first segment lower pivot 417 and thesecond lower bar 442 at a second segment lower pivot 425. It should beappreciated that additional segment sections can be added, if desired,and have similar constructions to the first and second segment sections410, 420 described herein.

To control pivoting behavior of the first segment section 410 in oneexemplary embodiment formed according to the present invention, anactuator 450 may be coupled to the upper bar 431, the lower bar 432,and/or the first segment section 410. In some exemplary embodimentsformed according to the present invention, the actuator 450 can couplethe upper bar 431 to the lower bar 432, as shown, or, alternatively, theactuator 450 may connect to other parts of the header 400 such as themain section 401 or the first segment section 411. In another exemplaryembodiment formed according to the present invention, the actuator 450can be part of a gauge wheel assembly (not shown) which supports theweight of the first segment section 410 and allows the first segmentsection 410 to follow the ground. The actuator 450 can be, for example,a selectively activated cylinder which can cause linear up and downmovement of the upper main bar 403 and lower main bar 404 as well as thefirst segment upper bar 412 and first segment lower bar 413.Additionally, the actuator 450 can be selectively activated to controlpivoting behavior of the first segment section 410 relative to the mainsection 401. Similarly, in some exemplary embodiments formed accordingto the present invention, a second actuator 460 can couple to the secondupper bar 441, the second lower bar 442, and/or the second segmentsection 430; the second actuator 460 can couple the second upper bar 441to the second lower bar 442, as shown, to other parts of the header 400,or be a part of a gauge wheel assembly (not shown), similar to thepreviously described actuator 450. By having the header 400 separatedinto the main section 401 with coupled segment sections 410 and 420,ground following of the cutter bar 403 can be improved due to thesegment sections 410, 420 coupled to the main section 401 beingindependently pivotable, relative to the main section 401 and eachother, and able to “float” on the ground as the vehicle 100 travelsacross a field. The actuators 450, 460, therefore, can act to helpcontrol the float behavior of the segment section(s) 410, 420 to assistthe header 400 in following the ground by pushing or pulling on arespectively connected element and causing a corresponding change in thefollowing behavior of the segment section(s) 410, 420.

As can be seen, the upper bar 431 of the first linkage 430 can define anupper bar axis UA2 and the lower bar 432 of the first linkage 430 candefine a lower bar axis LA2 which is parallel to the upper bar axis UA2.Similarly, the second upper bar 441 of the second linkage 440 can definea second upper bar axis UA3 and the second lower bar 442 of the secondlinkage 440 can define a second lower bar axis LA3 which is parallel tothe second upper bar axis UA3. In one exemplary embodiment, the upperbar axis UA2 and lower bar axis LA2 are non-parallel to the second upperbar axis UA3 and second lower bar axis LA3, which can be a result of theheader 400 traveling across uneven terrain or an intentional relativeangling.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly,it is to be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes ormodifications may be made to the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It is tobe understood that this invention is not limited to the particularembodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes andmodifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An agricultural header, comprising: a mainsection including a main frame carrying at least one flexible cuttingelement; at least one wing section pivotably coupled to said mainsection and including a wing frame; and a linkage pivotably couplingsaid at least one wing section to said main section, said linkageincluding an upper bar and a lower bar which are both coupled to saidmain frame and said wing frame, at least one of said upper bar or saidlower bar coupling a pivot of said main section to a pivot of said atleast one wing section, said upper bar defining an upper bar axis andsaid lower bar defining a lower bar axis which is non-parallel to saidupper bar axis, said wing frame supporting said at least one cuttingelement such that pivotable movement of said at least one wing sectioncauses a corresponding flexure of said at least one cutting element. 2.The agricultural header of claim 1, wherein said at least one wingsection defines a wing longitudinal axis, at least one of said upper baraxis and said lower bar axis being non-parallel to said winglongitudinal axis.
 3. The agricultural header of claim 2, wherein saidupper bar axis and said lower bar axis are both non-parallel to saidwing longitudinal axis.
 4. The agricultural header of claim 1, whereinsaid main section includes an upper main pivot and a lower main pivotand said at least one wing section includes an upper wing pivot and alower wing pivot, said upper bar being coupled to said upper main pivotand said upper wing pivot and said lower bar being coupled to said lowermain pivot and said lower wing pivot.
 5. The agricultural header ofclaim 4, wherein said upper bar defines an upper bar length and saidlower bar defines a lower bar length which is equal to said upper barlength.
 6. The agricultural header of claim 1, wherein said linkage isconfigured to maintain said upper bar axis and said lower bar axis in anon-parallel relationship regardless of an orientation of said at leastone wing section relative to said main section.
 7. The agriculturalheader of claim 1, further comprising an actuator coupling said upperbar to said lower bar.
 8. An agricultural header, comprising: a mainsection including a main frame carrying at least one flexible cuttingelement; at least one segment section pivotably coupled to said mainsection and including a segment frame; and a linkage pivotably couplingsaid at least one segment section to said main section, said linkageincluding an upper bar and a lower bar which are both coupled to saidmain frame and said segment frame, at least one of said upper bar orsaid lower bar coupling a pivot of said main section to a pivot of saidat least one segment section, said segment frame supporting said atleast one cutting element such that pivotable movement of said at leastone segment section causes a corresponding flexure of said at least onecutting element.
 9. The agricultural header of claim 8, wherein saidsegment frame is substantially rigid.
 10. The agricultural header ofclaim 8, further comprising an actuator coupled to at least one of saidupper bar and said lower bar.
 11. The agricultural header of claim 10,wherein said actuator couples said upper bar to said lower bar.
 12. Theagricultural header of claim 8, wherein said at least one segmentsection comprises a first segment section pivotably coupled to said mainsection and a second segment section pivotably coupled to said firstsegment section.
 13. The agricultural header of claim 12, furthercomprising a second linkage pivotably coupling said second segmentsection to said first segment section, said second linkage including asecond upper bar and a second lower bar which are both coupled to saidsecond segment section and said first segment section.
 14. Theagricultural header of claim 13, further comprising an actuator coupledto at least one of said upper bar, said lower bar, and said firstsegment section and a second actuator coupled to at least one of saidsecond upper bar, said second lower bar, and said second segmentsection.
 15. The agricultural header of claim 14, wherein said secondactuator couples said second upper bar to said second lower bar.
 16. Theagricultural header of claim 13, wherein said upper bar defines an upperbar axis, said lower bar defines a lower bar axis which is parallel tosaid upper bar axis, said second upper bar defines a second upper baraxis, and said second lower bar defines a second lower bar axis which isparallel to said second upper bar axis.
 17. The agricultural header ofclaim 13, wherein: said upper bar defines an upper bar axis, said lowerbar defines a lower bar axis, said second upper bar defines a secondupper bar axis, said second lower bar defines a second lower bar axis,and said upper bar axis and said lower bar axis are non-parallel to saidsecond upper bar axis and said second lower bar axis.
 18. Theagricultural header of claim 8, wherein said upper bar defines an upperbar axis and said lower bar defines a lower bar axis which is parallelto said upper bar axis.
 19. The agricultural header of claim 8, whereinsaid main frame includes an upper main bar pivotably coupled to saidupper bar and a lower main bar pivotably coupled to said lower bar.